The methods of the embodiments described herein relate to treatment fluids for use in subterranean formation operations comprising mucilage compositions.
Subterranean wells (e.g., hydrocarbon producing wells, water producing wells, and the like) are often stimulated by hydraulic fracturing treatments. in hydraulic fracturing treatments, a treatment fluid is pumped into a portion of a subterranean formation at a rate and pressure such that the subterranean formation breaks down and one or more fractures are formed. Typically, particulate solids, such as graded sand, are suspended in a portion of the treatment fluid and then deposited into the fractures. These particulate solids, or “proppant particulates,” serve to prop the fracture open (e.g., keep the fracture from fully closing) after the hydraulic pressure is removed. By keeping the fracture from fully closing, the proppant particulates aid in forming conductive paths through which produced fluids, such as hydrocarbons, may flow. Therefore, the ability of the treatment fluid to adequately suspend the proppant particulates with minimal or no settling is important to the success of the stimulation operation.
Well stimulation typically requires large amounts of treatment fluids to be pumped downhole under high pressures and flow rates over short periods of time, causing turbulent flow of the treatment fluid. The turbulence results in friction pressure between the treatment fluid and the stimulation equipment (e.g., wellbore piping, wellbore casing, etc.) and between the treatment fluid and the subterranean formation. The friction pressure increases the energy necessary to pump the treatment fluid downhole and can cause damage to stimulation equipment and the formation at extreme financial costs.
To combat the friction pressure, friction reducers are often added to treatment fluids. Traditional friction reducers are typically polymers (e.g., polyacrylamide, guar gum) that are able to change the rheological properties of the treatment fluid to overcome or minimize friction pressure. Some traditional friction reducing polymers may be characterized by a large hydrodynamic radius such that upon shearing, the friction reducing polymers can absorb energy from high nucleation sites by stretching to a more relaxed form and redistribute the energy to other locales. Other traditional friction reducing polymers may swell to form sticky dispersions or gelatinize so as to suspend turbulent flow.
While traditional friction reducing polymers are effective at reducing friction pressure, enhanced friction reduction is sometimes necessary for particular subterranean formation operations. Moreover, simultaneous enhanced friction reduction and viscosification of the treatment fluid for particulate suspension (e.g., proppant particulates) may be preferred.